Systems and methods for transmitting data information messages on a downlink of a wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are provide for communicating data or other non-control information messages within a downlink control channel directly, rather than in a data channel or broadcast channel. Thereby, radio resource utilization can be substantially improved in the cellular system, such as in the case of transmitting smaller data packets. In an embodiment, a transmitter arranges a set of time-frequency radio resources, associated with a downlink control channel, for transmitting information other than control information sent on the downlink control channel. The transmitter then sends, on the set of time-frequency radio resources, a data information message comprising the information other than the control information. The information other than the control information comprises one of user-specific data information and broadcast data information. A receiver then receives on the downlink control channel, control information and the data information message.

This application is a reissue application of U.S. Pat. No. 9,839,018.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/842,839 filed on Jul. 3, 2013 by Fredrik Berggren et al, and entitled“Method for Transmitting Data information Messages in the Downlink of aCellular Wireless Communication System,” which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference as if reproduced in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of wireless networkcommunications, and, in particular embodiments, to systems and methodsfor transmitting data information messages on a downlink of a wirelesscommunication system.

BACKGROUND

Contemporary cellular wireless communication systems, such as 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Evolved Universal TerrestrialRadio Access (E-UTRA) or Long Term Evolution (LTE), include channels,such as a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), which comprisetime-frequency resources that can be shared among users by means of ascheduler. Thus, in contrast to a dedicated channel, benefits .fromstatistical multiplexing could be achieved by a shared channel, leadingto improved overall PDSCH resource utilization. To improve theutilization of the time-frequency resources in the system, it isbeneficial to allocate resources to different channel types, such asbetween the PDSCH and the downlink control channels, in a flexiblemanner to reduce the number of time-frequency resources that go unused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an embodiment, a method by a network componentcomprises arranging a set of time-frequency radio resources, which areassociated with. a downlink control channel, for transmittinginformation other than control information sent on the downlink controlchannel. A data information message is then transmitted on the set oftime-frequency radio resources. The data information message comprisesthe information other than the control information.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method by a network componentincludes receiving, from a transmitter, control information on adownlink control channel, and receiving a data information message on aset of time-frequency radio resources associated with the downlinkcontrol channel. The set of time-:frequency radio resources is used forcommunicating information other than the control information. Thenetwork component obtains the information other than control informationfrom the data information message.

In accordance with another embodiment, a network component comprises atleast one processor and a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor.The programming includes instructions to arrange a set of time-frequencyradio resources associated with a downlink control channel fortransmitting information other than control information sent on thedownlink control channel. The network component is further configured totransmit, on the set of time-frequency radio resources, a datainformation message comprising the information other than the controlinformation.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a network component comprisesat least one processor and a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor.The programming includes instructions to receive, from a transmitter,control information on a downlink control channel, and receive a datainformation message on a set of time-frequency radio resourcesassociated with the downlink control channel. The set of time-frequencyradio resources is used for communicating information other than thecontrol information. The network component is further configured toobtain the information other than control information from the datainformation message.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly tile features of an embodimentof the present invention in order that the detailed description of theinvention that follows may be better understood. Additional features andadvantages of embodiments of the invention will be describedhereinafter, which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basisfor modifying or designing other structures or processes for carryingout the same purposes of the present invention. It should also berealized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructionsdo not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth inthe appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a wireless network for communicatingdata;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment data information messagecomprising a CRC and a data part;

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment data information messagecomprising a CRC and two data parts;

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment data information messagecomprising two data parts with a respective Cyclic Redundancy Check(CRC);

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment data information messagecomprising a CRC, a data part, and control information;

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of down-link transmissionsin a cellular system;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment method for operating atransmitter;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment method for operating areceiver;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagrams of an embodiment communicationsdevice; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a processing system that can be used toimplement various embodiments.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments andare not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments atediscussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that thepresent invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that canbe embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to makeand use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

In dynamically transmission of data in LTE, a Physical Downlink ControlChannel (PDCCH) or an Enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH) is first decoded (by areceiver) in order to obtain a Downlink Control information (DCI)message, which contains control information, such as downlink (DL)assignment or uplink (UL) grant) needed for subsequently receiving aPDSCH or for transmitting a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH),respectively. However, such a two-step transmission and receptionprocedure could be associated with a number of issues and does notnecessarily result in efficient time-frequency resource utilization forvarious kinds of data transmissions.

The PDCCH is transmitted in the downlink control region, located at thebeginning of the subframe, which length can be adjusted dynamically,e.g., indicated by a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH)depending on system load. For carrier bandwidths above 10 PhysicalResource Blocks (PRBs), 1, 2 or 3 OFDM symbols can be used andotherwise, 2, 3, or 4 OFDM symbols can be used as downlink controlregion. The adjustment resolution is thus in terms of OFDM symbols,which implies that for normal Cyclic Prefix (CP) length, the amount oftime-frequency resources that is not available for the PDSCH would be inmultiples of 1/14 or 7.1% (there are 14 OFDM symbols per subframe).Thus, situations could occur where only few UEs in the cell have data totransmit, wherein even the minimum 7.1% (or 14.2% for small bandwidths)down-link control overhead is excessive. For extended CP, a subframe has12 OFDM symbols and the granularity would be 1/12 or 8.3% (or 16.6% forsmall bandwidths). Furthermore, for the special subframes inTime-Division Duplex (TDD), the number of OFDM symbols available for thePDSCH may be less than 12 or 14, yielding, even larger control regionlength granularities. Thus, an unbalanced situation may occur wherethere is a shortage of time-frequency resources for the PDSCH, whiletime-frequency resources are unutilized in the control region due to thelarge granularity of control channel resources. The PDCCH is transmittedby means of the cell-specific reference signals (CRS).

The EPDCCH on the other hand is transmitted within an EPDCCH setcomprising a number of PRB pairs. Two EPDCCH sets could be configured.The compositions of the sets are provided by higher layer signaling anddo not change dynamically. For localized transmission, typically theEPDCCH is transmitted in as few as possible PRB pairs in the EPDCCH set,whereas for distributed transmission, the EPDCCH is transmitted on asmany PRB pairs as possible within the EPDCCH set. An evolved NodeB(eNodeB) may schedule the PDSCH on PRB pairs of the EPDCCH set, if theyare not used tai EPDCCH transmission by any UE. However, the PDSCH andEPDCCH cannot be transmitted in the same PRB pair and the EPDCCH may notneed to use all time-frequency resources within a PRB pair, e.g., ifdistributed transmission is used. Hence, situations could occur whereonly few UEs in the cell have data to transmit and there could be ashortage of time-frequency resources for the PDSCH while significantamounts of time-frequency resources are unutilized in the EPDCCH set.This would, for instance, become an issue for small carrier bandwidths,where a large fraction of the available PRB pairs are included in anEPDCCH set. The EPDCCH is transmitted by means of receiver-specificDemodulation-Reference Signals (DM-RSs). The statistical multiplexinggain of data and control information is reduced in the LTE system sincethe PDSCH may not be transmitted in the downlink control channel regionor in PRB pairs containing EPDCCH.

Upon reception of a correctly received downlink assignment in thePDCCH/EPDCCH, the UE processes the PDSCH in the same subframe andtransmits an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK)several subframes later. However, if the UE does not correctly receivethe downlink assignment, it does not transmit any ACK or NACK. TheeNodeB knows whether the PDCCH/EPDCCH was missed by detecting whetherthere is ACK or NACK. transmission, or by detecting no Hybrid. AutomaticRepeat Request (HARQ) feedback transmission at all (using discontinuoustransmission (DIX) detection), which occurs several subframes later.Hence, there are no HARQ messages for the control channels(PDCCH/EPDCCH), but only for the data channel (PDSCH). Thus, the eNodeBcontinues to transmit the PDSCH even in cases where the associatedPDCCH/EPDCCH was missed by the UE. This two-step procedure by means ofseparate control channel and data channel may lead to resource wastagesince there can be PDSCH transmissions which no UE will attempt toreceive.

User data on the PDSCH is processed in the physical layer by means oftransport blocks obtained from higher protocol layers. The size of atransport block is given by the standard specification and depends Onthe number of allocated PRB pairs and the modulation and coding scheme.Table 1 is an excerpt from the 3GPP TS36.213 standard showing a set oftransport block sizes.

TABLE 1 Example of transport block sizes (bits) from LTE for onetransmission layer. Number of PRB pairs Modulation and coding scheme 1 23 0 16 32 56 1 24 56 88 2 32 72 144 3 40 104 176 4 56 120 208 5 72 144224

Since even small transport blocks require scheduling of a number ofWhole PRB pairs, the transmission of small packets is inefficient. Forexample, if a transport block of 32 bits is to be transmitted, at leastone PRB pair is needed. A PRB pair could carry up to 336 encoded bits(with normal CP, Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (QPSK), no overhead).Using a whole PRB pair would yield a substantially low code rate, lessthan 1/10 in this case. On a carrier with a small bandwidth, e.g.,comprising 6 PRB pairs, 1 PRB pair corresponds to ⅙ or 16.7% of allPDSCH resources, which is substantial for such a small transport block.Depending on the resource allocation method used, the assignableresources for PDSCH may be in multiples of PRB pairs (e.g., ResourceBlock Groups) and not necessarily as single PRB pairs. Thus, smalltransport blocks may not be efficiently transmitted on the PDSCH.

Furthermore, the transport blocks on the PDSCH are encoded by turbocodes, which are known to perform well for large transport block sizesbut require complex decoding algorithms. Therefore, for other channelsin LIE, where small amounts of information are transmitted, e.g., forthe control channels (PDCCH/EPDCCH), tail biting convolutional codes areused instead, which have more appealing properties of performance andcomplexity for small data packets. In the uplink, small amount of datain terms of uplink control information can also be encoded by blockcodes. Hence, the encoding method for the PDSCH is not tailored to smallpackets.

With the increased use of smartphones, large amounts of small datapackets are transmitted, which is different than traditional voiceservices and high data rate downloads. There are various real-worldexamples where such traffic overloads the system and decreases system'scapacity. For example, studies and measurements of total amount of datatraffic used on a network over a certain period of time, have shown thatthat 80% of usage lasts less than 10 seconds and 60% of usage requireless than 1 kbit. Other measurements showed that 30% of the transfersizes are less than 1 kbyte, including Transmission Control Protocol(TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) headers.

Another example where small amount of data is transmitted is thePhysical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) in LTE, wherein 14 information bitsare encoded by a convolutional code. The PBCH is transmitted by CRS on aset of predetermined time-frequency resources and the PDSCH is mappedaround the PBCH, e.g., the PBCH resources cannot be shared by any otherchannel. It has been suggested to define a new carrier type without anyCommon Reference Signals (CRS) for receiving the PBCH. Hence, a newmechanism is needed for conveying broadcast information in this case.

In the LTE system, the resource utilization is limited by thattime-frequency resources cannot be completely and flexibly shared amongthe control channels (PDCCH/EPDCCH) and the data channel (PDSCH) or thebroadcast channel (PBCH). This may lead to underutilization of theavailable resources. Furthermore, transmission of small transport blockson the PDSCH is inefficient as one or several PRB pairs need to beallocated. Turbo coding is also not necessarily beneficial fortransmission of small transport blocks.

Embodiments of this disclosure provide a new paradigm by means of aone-step approach comprising transmitting data or other non-controlinformation messages within the downlink control channel directly,rather than in a data channel or broadcast channel. Thereby, radioresource utilization can be substantially improved in the cellularsystem, such as in the case of transmitting smaller data packets.Moreover, the benefit of using convolutional or block coding instead ofturbo coding could be achieved for small data packets. Furtherapplications and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure willbe apparent from the following detailed description.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network 100 for communicating data. The network 100comprises an access point (AP) 110 having a coverage area 112, aplurality of user equipments (UEs) 120, and a backhaul network 130. TheAP 110 may comprise any component capable of providing wireless accessby establishing uplink (dashed line) and/or downlink (dotted line)connections with the UEs 120, such as a base station, an enhanced basestation (eNB), a femtocell, and other wirelessly enabled devices. TheUEs 120 may comprise any component capable of establishing a wirelessconnection with the AP 110. The backhaul network 130 may be anycomponent or collection of components that allow data to he exchangedbetween the AP 110 and a remote end (not shown). In some embodiments,the network 100 may comprise various other wireless devices, such asrelays and femtocells.

In the LTE system, the PDCCH and the EPDCCH are used to transmitDownlink Control Information (DCI) messages which can contain controlinformation for one or several UEs. A number of DCI formats are definedfor different purposes: DCI formats 0/4 contain PUSCH grants: DCIformats 1/1A/1B/1C/1D/2/2A/2B/2C/2D contain PDSCH assignments; DCIformats 3/3A contain transmit power control commands for PUCCH/PUSCH;and DCI format 1A may alternatively contain an order to the UE toinitiate a random access procedure.

Higher layer signaling configures the UE of which formats it shouldreceive. The size of the DCI messages is known to the UE and may dependon carrier bandwidth and other features configured for the UE. TypicalDCI message sizes could be in the order of about 20 to about 70 bits. ADCI message is transmitted on a set of time-frequency resources referredto as Control Channel Elements (CCEs) or, for EPDCCH, Enhanced CCEs(ECCEs). DCI messages can be transmitted on one or several CCEs (orECCEs), e.g., at different aggregation levels. A large aggregation levelallows using a smaller code rate, and thus the eNodeB can adapt the coderate to the link conditions. Whether there is a PDCCH/EPDCCHtransmission for the UE and on which CCEs/ECCEs is not known to the UE.Hence, a UE blindly decodes a set of predetermined CCEs (or ECCEs),referred to as PDCCH (or EPDCCH) candidates, for each aggregation level,for one or several DCI messages. The set of CCEs can be UE-specific,referred to as a UE-specific search space, or can be common amongseveral UEs, referred to as a common search space. Control informationthat is designated for several UEs is transmitted in the common searchspace.

A 16 bit CRC is attached to the DCI message which is then encoded by aconvolutional code. The CRC of the DCI message is scrambled with asequence obtained from a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) whichis assigned to the UE. Cell-specific scrambling further applied to thePDCCH, whereas UE-specific scrambling is used for the EPDCCH. Uponcorrect decoding, the CRC has to be descrambled correctly and the UE cantherefore determine whether the PDCCH (or EPDCCH) candidate contains arelevant DCI message intended for this UE and the purpose of thismessage. Different types of RNTI, both UE-specific and cell-specific,can be used depending on the purpose for the DCI. For example, the RNTItypes include: C-RNTI for dynamic transmission on PDSCH; SPS-RNTI forsemi-persistent transmission on PDSCH; SI-RNTI for system informationtransmission on PDSCH; P-RNTI for paging information transmission onPDSCH; RA-RNTI for random access response on PDSCH; TPC-PUCCH-RNTI forPUCCH power control; and TPC-PDSCH-RNTI for PDSCH power control.

Upon a correctly detected control channel (e.g., PDCCH, EPDCCH) and adetection attempt of the PDSCH, the UE may initiate a transmission ofACK or NACK in the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). For dynamicscheduling (as opposed to Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS)) of thePDSCH, the PUCCH time-frequency resource to be used for carrying theacknowledgement (ACK) or Negative ACK (NACK) is derived implicitly froman enumeration of the CCEs (or ECCEs) used for transmitting theassociated DCI. For TDD, the DCI also comprises a set of bits whichadditionally is used for determining the PUCCH resource, in case ofEPDCCH transmission.

The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) transmits the Master InformationBlock (MIB), which contains essential information for accessing a cell,e.g., carrier bandwidth (4 bits), Physical HARQ Indicator Channel(PHICH) configuration (2 bits) and the 8 most significant bits of theSystem Frame Number (SFN) (8 bits). The SFN comprises 10 bits and is anenumeration of a subframe. The PHICH configuration and the carrierbandwidth are needed in order to be able to determine the available CCEsfir the PDCCH.

The PBCH in LTE is transmitted in the 6 central RBs (72 subcarriers) ofthe carrier and in the first 4 OFDM symbols of slot 1. The smallest LETtransmission bandwidth configuration of a carrier may be 6 RBs and theUE does not know the carrier bandwidth prior to detecting the PBCH.Using 6 RBs assures that the PBCH can be detected regardless of thecarrier bandwidth and it provides maximum frequency diversity. The dataof the PBCH is encoded by a convolutional code and a 16-bit CRC isattached to provide for error detection. The transmission time interval(TTI) of the PBCH is 40 millisecond (ms). For example, the encoded datais conveyed over 4 radio frames, using the first 4 OFDM symbols of slot1 in each radio frame. The encoded bits are mapped such that it would bepossible to correctly receive the PBCH from just 1 decoding attempt,e.g., from 1 radio frame. On the other hand, the 40 ms timing is unknownto the UE Which needs to be detected. The scrambling sequence of thePBCH is defined over 40 ms, hence the UE can blindly detect the 40 mstiming, even from 1 decoding attempt (requiring 4 decoding hypotheses).Once the 40 ms timing is detected, the 2 least significant bits of theSFN can be obtained. Having a transmission time of 40 ms spreads thebroadcast message over several radio frames and assures thattime-diversity can be achieved, e.g., in order to avoid fading dips.

The PBCH is transmitted on the CRS ports. The number of CRS antennaports can be 1, 2 or 4 but is unknown to the UE prior to detecting thePBCH. Transmit diversity is used for the PBCH when there is more than 1CRS port. For 2 CRS ports, Space Frequency Block Coding (SFBC) isapplied and, for 4 CRS ports, a combination of SFBC and FrequencySwitched Transmit Diversity (FSTD) is used. The UE blindly detects thenumber of CRS ports by de-mapping the resource elements (REs), of thePBCH under the 3 hypotheses of 1, 2 or 4 CRS ports and correspondingdiversity scheme. The PBCH is always mapped to the REs assuming 4 CRSports are used. That is, the REs defined for antenna ports p=0-3 arenever used to carry the PBCH, regardless of the number of actuallyconfigured antenna ports. The CRC is scrambled with a sequence beingdependent on the number of CRS ports. Hence, the UE can verify if thecorrect number of CRS ports has been detected.

Embodiments of this disclosure discloses a method in a transmitter (anda corresponding method in receiver) to use a downlink control channel ofa cellular system (e.g., PDCCH/EPDCCH in LTE systems) for transmittingdata information message(s) comprising other information than controlinformation to mobile users, e.g., user-data information, broadcastinformation, or any information other than control information carriedon control channels. As used herein, the term non-control informationrefers to any information other than network control informationtypically carried on control channels, such as PDCCH and EPDCCH. Thenon-control information can include user data information, broadcastinformation, or other non-control information. Thus, in contrast tosystems where the downlink control channel includes DCI, embodimentsdescribed herein accommodate transmitting data or other non-controlinformation in the downlink control channel.

In the method, a set of time-frequency radio resources associated with adownlink control channel is arranged (by the network or a networkcontroller) so that the set can be used by the transmitter fortransmission of user data, broadcast information, or other non-controlinformation. The arrangement may include defining resources, e.g., asearch space, wherein such transmissions may occur and informing thereceiver about the arrangement, e.g., by signaling and/or bypredetermined rules, or any other necessary actions related to downlinktransmissions. Hence, the transmitter transmits the data or othernon-control information message (s) in the downlink on said set oftime-frequency radio resources. At the receiver side, the datainformation messages are received on said set of time-frequency radioresources associated with a downlink control channel, and theinformation messages are thereafter processed for further use by thereceiver.

FIG. 6 shows a system overview in which an eNodeB, in this LTE example,transmits data, broadcast, or other non-control information messages inthe downlink to a UE on a control channel. The data information messagesmay be modulated with a predetermined modulation format, e.g., PhaseShift Keying (PSK), such as e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 8-PSK, etc. Whenimplemented in an LTE system, QPSK may be used for this purpose in PDCCHand EPDCCH.

It should further be noted that embodiments of this disclosure may beapplicable in any cellular wireless communication system in whichnetwork nodes are arranged to transmit control information in downlinkcontrol channels, and is therefore not limited to the exemplary cellularsystems in the present disclosure. The embodiments improve the resourceutilization and flexibility of the system (with the use of LTEterminology), where available control channel resources not associatedwith downlink or uplink control information transmission can be utilizedfir transmission of data or other non-control information. Thereby, moreflexibility of sharing resources between data/non-control and controltransmission can be achieved in the system.

Further, the transmission of smaller data packets can be made efficientas allocation of an unproportional large amount of data channel (PDSCH)resources is avoided. The consequences of an undetected downlink controlchannel are also reduced as data channel (PDSCH) resources do not needto be scheduled, and the benefit of using convolutional or block codinginstead of turbo coding could be achieved for small data packets. Themethod above is also advantageous for transmitting broadcastinformation. For instance, the PBCH utilizes a number of fixedtime-frequency resources which cannot be utilized by any other signal.This implies that certain reference signals (Channel-State informationRS (CSI-RS), Positioning RS (PRS), DM-RS) cannot be transmitted ifoverlapping with the PBCH. This problem could he reduced if thebroadcast information is transmitted in the downlink control channel, asdescribed above.

In embodiment scenarios where the CRS is not transmitted, which impliesthat the PBCH cannot be transmitted, a new mechanism based on DM-RSdemodulation is used for transmitting the MIB (or an Enhanced MIB). Thiscan he achieved by transmitting, for example, the MIB in the EPDCCH.

According to an embodiment, at least one time-frequency resource ispredefined/predetermined such that the receiver does not need to blindlydecode all control channel candidates. The set ofpredefined/predetermined time-frequency resources comprise, for example,a predetermined control channel candidate on a given aggregation level.This is advantageous if the data transmission includes broadcastinformation since it avoids performing blind detections in the cellaccess procedure. In that case, since the receiver needs to be able toretrieve the broadcast information prior to knowing the earlierbandwidth, the used time-frequency resources are confined to the minimumcarrier bandwidth supported by the system, e.g., 6 resource blocks inLIE. Even if the time-frequency resources are predefined fortransmission of data information, these resources can be shared andalternatively be used for transmission of DCI messages. Thereby, theresource utilization is improved. A predefined/predetermined timefrequency resource could be determined by rules known to both thetransmitter and receiver and additional signaling may not be required tospecify the resource.

According to another embodiment, at least one time-frequency resource isnot predefined/predetermined. This allows some more flexibility inarranging the resources while it may require the receiver to search for(e.g., blindly decode) the transmitted control channel candidates. Inyet another embodiment, the time-frequency resources consist of multiplecontrol channel candidates from a given search space. This allows fullflexibility in multiplexing DCI messages and data information messageson the control channel. Consequently, better resource utilization ispossible in this case. In order to further limit the searchingcomplexity, it is possible to only apply the method to a subset of thetime-frequency resources and/or a subset of the aggregation levels. Suchrestrictions could be predetermined such that no signaling is needed toindicate it to the receiver.

The time-frequency resources may be located within the user-specificsearch space. This supports transmitting user-specific data in thecontrol channel, which enables the system to transmit transport blockseither on the data channel (e.g., PDSCH) or in the downlink controlchannel (e.g., PDCCH/EPDCCH). A further benefit, in case the EPDCCH isused for transmitting the data information message, is that the meritsof using DM-RS based transmission are always applicable, e.g.,receiver-specific beamforming, even though that would not he possible onthe PDSCH (e.g., if the configured transmission mode utilizes CRS-basedPDSCH transmission). For example, in some transmission modes, the PDSCHis transmitted with CRS, which may not be as flexible.

In yet another embodiment, the time-frequency resources are locatedwithin the common search space. This allows transmitting cell-specificdata in the control channel, such as broadcast information. A furtherexample is where the receiver-specific data is transmitted in a commonsearch space and higher layer signaling indicates which parts of thedata information message a particular user should consider. As such, allusers are able to decode the data packet but each user only extracts theparts which the higher layer signaling indicates.

One application of using, the common search space is where the datainformation message comprises broadcast information, such as the MIB.This is particularly useful on a carrier type where there is no CRS,implying that the PBCH and PHICH cannot be transmitted. The broadcastinformation (e.g., an Enhanced MIB) on such a carrier can be differentfrom the MIB on a legacy LIE carrier, as the PHICH configuration is notneeded. It is thus possible to include also the 2 least significant bitsof the SFN without increasing the Enhanced MIB size compared to the MIB.An advantage of this implementation is that the UE may not need toperform blind decoding in order to obtain the 2 least significant bitsof the SFN. Alternatively, if the 2 least significant bits of the SFNare not contained in the Enhanced MIB, a longer Transmission TimeInterval (TTI) can be used (e.g., 40 ms) implying lower code rates.Additionally, an Enhanced MIB may contain information related todefining a common EPDCCH search space.

Blind decoding refers to a scheme in which different time-frequencylocations of a DCI are tested as well as different DCI message sizes.For example, for a given. configured transmission mode in LTE, thereceiver monitors two DCI formats which may have different sizes. In oneexample, the message size (number of bits) of the data informationmessage is the same as the number of hits of an existing DCI messagewhich the user is configured to decode. Thus, no additional blinddecoding is needed for decoding the data information since no newmessage size is introduced.

In a further embodiment, the message size of the data informationmessage is the same as the number of bits of a transport block for thePDSCH. This provides the advantage of using the same packet segmentationprocedures on higher layers as current LTE system. Optionally, the sizecan be the same as the number of bits of an existing DCI message whichthe user can be configured to decode. If the size of the data packet(transport block) is smaller than the DCI message, bits can be padded toalign the sizes.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment message that comprises a CRC and a data (orother non-control) information message that is transmitted usingtime-frequency radio resources associated with a downlink channel. Inone example, the data information message comprises 1 transport block.FIG. 3 shows a non-limiting example where the data information messagecomprises multiple data parts (e.g., more than one transport block) andwhere the information messages are concatenated. Other ways ofconcatenation (e.g., interleaving) to arrange the data parts are alsopossible. FIG. 4 shows another embodiment message that comprises morethan 1 data part (e.g., transport block), where each transport block isassociated with a separate CRC. Other ways of concatenation (e.g.,interleaving) to arrange the data parts are possible.

For cases where the data or non-control information message comprisesuser-specific information, a dedicated receiver-specific RNTI can beused to scramble the CRC of the message. One example is to use a newtype of RNTI (e.g., different from that of the C-RNIT) for controlchannel messages that contain data information. As such, the user candetermine whether the received message amounts to control it or datainformation (e.g., a transport block).

Another example is to reuse the C-RNTI, which cart limit the need ofallocating and signaling additional RNTIs and avoid having to usemultiple RNTIs when verifying the CRC code. If the C-RNTI is used, thereis a need to ensure that the user/receiver is able to determine whetherit has decoded a control message or a data/non-control informationmessage. This could be facilitated by constraining the control messageand data/non-control information message to have different sizes. Themessage type can then be determined by blind decoding. Thedifferentiation can also be achieved by using another polynomial forcomputing the CRC and/or using a particular interleaving or scramblingon the data information message prior to computing the CRC. If suchscrambling or interleaving is different for data/non-control informationmessages and control messages, it would be possible to use the same sizefor the data/non-control information message and the control messagewhile still being able to determine the message type, e.g.,data/non-control information or control information.

A further option to determine the message type (assuming the messagetypes at least are transmitted using the same RNTI) is to define a setof predefined rules for certain bits in the message to allow identifyingthe message type. For example, the control information in the DCIconsists of a number of information fields and not all combinations ofvalues may be simultaneously possible. Hence, a rule can be implementedwhere certain bits are set to predefined values in a data informationmessage and the predefined bits are chosen such that the combinationcould not be possible in a control message.

If the data information comprises broadcast information, e.g., anEnhanced MIB, a common broadcast RNTI can be used to scramble the CRC ofthe message. This broadcast RNTI (e.g., a cell-specific scramblingsequence) can be pre-defined and known to all UEs in the system.Additionally, a cell-specific scrambling sequence can be applied on thedata information message (instead of the current UE-specific scramblingsequence used for EPDCCH), if the data information message istransmitted in a common search space. Hence, the broadcast informationcan be received by all users in the cell.

Embodiments of this disclosure may be beneficial for smaller datainformation messages. A CCE can accommodate 72 bits. For aggregationlevels 1, 2, 4 and 8, the PDCCH is capable of conveying up to 72, 144,288 and 576 encoded bits, respectively. Thus, with a large aggregationlevel, it is possible to provide sufficiently low code rates even forsmall data packets. For the EPDCCH, the size of the ECCE can be similarto that of a CCE, but may differ depending on other configured signals.EPDCCH aggregation levels 16 and 32 are possible in some instances,suggesting that it is possible to provide low code rates even for smalldata packets. For example, with aggregation levels 32 and 72 bits perECCE, 2304 encoded bits can be transmitted.

In LTE systems, Reed-Muller block codes of length 32 and 20 arespecified, which are used to encode control information in the uplink.The largest payload is 48 bits (PUCCH Format 3) which utilizes aconcatenation of length 32 codes. The systems also include tail bitingconvolutional coding of rate 1/3, which is used for both uplink anddownlink control information and the broadcast channel. In such case,the data/non-control information messages can be encoded using the samemethod above for the downlink control channel, e.g., using tail bitingconvolutional codes. This may enable lower detection complexity in thereceiver and, in some cases, better decoding performance, compared tothe use of a turbo code.

Furthermore, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the controlchannel are designed for coverage instead of capacity. In other words,the MCS is designed such that the transmissions can be received at anylocation within the coverage area. In the case where the UE is closer tothe base station, the radio channel is not used efficiently because thechannel quality can support a more aggressive MCS scheme. In anembodiment, superposition coding can be used. In this case, the firstlayer of the superposition code is used to encode the control/datachannel such that the channel can be received at any location within thecoverage area. For the cases where the UEs are closer to the basestation, a second layer of the code can be used to encode additionaldata. A separate CRC can be sent in the second layer so that thereceiver can determine if it has received the second layer correctly.The UE can be informed if such a second layer is transmitted. In oneenbodiment, the signaling that informs the UE that data is sent may alsoinform the UE to attempt to decode the second layer. In anotherembodiment, an explicit signal is embedded in the signaling of the firstlayer to inform the UE to attempt to decode the second layer. In yetanother embodiment, the indication to the UE to detect the additionallayer can be sent via higher layer signaling.

If the receiver fails to decode the control channel (e.g.,PDCCH/EPDCCH), e.g., the CRC code does not check correctly, the DTXscheme can be applied. In LTE, the eNodeB may thus initiate aretransmission in a later sub-frame. If the receiver succeeds indecoding the control channel and the message contained data, an ACK issent. The corresponding time-frequency resource in the uplink controlchannel could thus be derived implicitly from the used time-frequencyresource (CCEs/ECCEs) of the associated downlink control channel.Additionally, the data/non-control information message may containcertain bits (e.g., as for EPDCCH in TDD) to further determine thetime-frequency resource in the uplink control channel. These bits wouldbe available to the receiver if the control channel is correctlydetected. Alternatively, HARQ signaling can be used in a shared uplinkdata channel (e.g., PUSCH).

FIG. 5 shows a message that comprises a CRC, a data/non-controlinformation message and a set of additional bits comprising informationfor at least determining time-frequency resources in an uplink controlchannel. If the information message comprises one CRC and more than onedata part, a single ACK can be transmitted, when both informationmessages are correctly received. If the information message comprisesone CRC for each data part, multiple ACKs can be transmitted, e.g., oneACK per data part. In this case, it may also be possible to send a NACKfor a data part that was not correctly received.

For the receiver, the detection of the HARQ signaling in the uplinkcontrol channel is simplified and consists of monitoring whether thereis any signal energy on the designated control channel resource (whichwould correspond to a single ACK) or if there is no signal energy (whichwould correspond to DTX). Such a detector may be implemented bycomparing the received signal energy with a threshold, and declaring ACKfor a received signal energy above the threshold, or DTX otherwise. Thethreshold may be set according to certain requirements on maximum falsealarm probabilities. The method is further applicable to semi-persistentscheduling wherein the HARQ resources are semi-statically configured inthe PUCCH.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show flowcharts of a method in a transmitter and a methodin a receiver, respectively. The system in this example is a 3GPP LTEsystem (as shown in FIG. 6 for example) and the transmission isperformed in the downlink from an eNodeB (or a relay node) to a UE. Instep T1 (FIG. 7), the eNodeB arranges a set of time-frequency radioresources associated with a DL control channel, e.g., PDCCH or EnhancedPDCCH. Before the arranging step the eNodeB may be preparingtransmissions by encoding the data, broadcast, or other non-controlinformation imitation messages and performing associated processing,e.g., CRC attachment, scrambling, modulation, or other processing. Instep T2, the eNodeB transmits the data/non-control information messageson the set of time-frequency radio resources in the downlink. This canbe achieved by mapping the data information message on time-frequencyresources (CCEs/ECCEs) in the downlink control channel, and transmittingthe data information messages in the downlink control channel.

In step R1 (FIG. 8), the UE receives the data/non-control informationmessages on the set of time-frequency radio resources and performs theusual method steps in the receiver, such as detection, demodulation,decoding, or other processing. In step R2, the UE processes theinformation messages and uses the information, e.g., for softwarerelated processing, or other processing. In step R3, the UE transmitsHARQ messages to the eNodeB in the uplink in response to reception ofthe information messages in step R1.

The methods/techniques described herein may also be implemented in acomputer program, having code means, which when run by processing meanscauses the processing means to execute the steps of the method. Thecomputer program is included in a computer readable medium of a computerprogram product. The computer readable medium may comprises ofessentially any memory, such as a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a PROM(Programmable Read-Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), a Flashmemory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a hard disk drive.

Moreover, aspects of this disclosure also relates to a transmitterdevice and a corresponding receiver device. Mentioned devices comprisethe necessary functional in the form of means, units, and elements. toexecute any method according to aspects of this disclosure. Mentionedmeans, units, elements, may include memory, processing circuitry,coupling means, antenna means, precoding unit, amplifier unit, or otherunits. The present transmitter may according to an embodiment he aneNodeB (e.g. a base station) or a relay node, and the present receivermay be a UE in the LTE system.

The transmitter device is arranged for transmitting data informationmessages in the downlink of a cellular wireless communication system.The transmitter device comprises an arranging unit arranged forarranging a set of time frequency radio resources associated with adownlink control channel, and a transmitting unit arranged fortransmitting data information message(s) on the time-frequency radioresources. The transmitter processes different communication signals andtransmits signals over physical antennas using a transmit unit which,e.g., comprises processing circuitry, precoder, MIMO antennas,amplifiers, etc. The transmitter device may also comprise a receiverunit for receiving uplink signals from mobile users.

The receiver device is arranged for receiving data information messagesin the downlink of a cellular wireless communication system. Thereceiver device comprises a receiving unit arranged for receiving atleast one data information message transmitted by the transmitter deviceon a set of time-frequency radio resources associated with a downlinkcontrol channel. The receiver device unit may comprise antennas,decoders, demodulators, etc.

The cellular wireless communication system covers a geographical areawhich is divided into cell areas, with each cell area being served by atransmitter, also referred to as a radio network node or base station,e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), eNB, eNodeB, NodeB or B node,depending on the technology and terminology used. Sometimes, also theexpression cell may be used for denoting the transmitter/radio networknode itself. However, the cell is also, or in normal terminology, thegeographical area where radio coverage is provided by thetransmitter/radio network node at a base station site. One transmitter,situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Thetransmitters communicate over the air interface operating on radiofrequencies with the receivers within range of the respectivetransmitter.

A receiver, also known as UE in LTE systems, mobile station, wirelessterminal and/or mobile terminal is enabled to communicate wirelessly ina cellular wireless communication system. The receiver may further bereferred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, computer tabletsor laptops with wireless capability. The receivers in the presentcontext may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held,computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled tocommunicate voice and/or data, via the radio access network, withanother entity.

In some radio access networks, several transmitters may be connected,e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a Radio Network Controller (RNC),e.g., in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RNC,also sometimes termed Base Station Controller (BSC), e.g., in GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), may supervise and coordinatevarious activities of the plural transmitters connected thereto. In 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE),transmitters, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or eNBs, may beconnected to a gateway, e.g., a radio access gateway, to one or morecore networks.

Furthermore, the processing circuitry of the transmitter or receiverdevices may comprise, e.g., one or more instances of a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, aprocessor, an Application Specific integrated Circuit (ASIC), amicroprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and executeinstructions. The expression “processing circuitry” may thus represent aprocessing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, suchas, e.g., any, some or all of the ones mentioned above. The processingcircuitry may further perform data processing functions for inputting,outputting, and processing of data comprising data buffering and devicecontrol functions, such as call processing control, user interfacecontrol, or the like.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a communicationsdevice 900, which may be equivalent to one or more devices (e.g., UEs,NBs, etc.) discussed above. The communications device 900 may include aprocessor 904, a memory 906, a cellular interface 910, a supplementalinterface 912, and a backhaul interface 914, which may (or may not) bearranged as shown in FIG. 9. The processor 904 may be any componentcapable of performing computations and/or other processing relatedtasks, and the memory 906 may be any component capable of storingprogramming and/or instructions for the processor 904. The cellularinterface 910 may be any component or collection of components thatallows the communications device 900 to communicate using a cellularsignal, and may be used to receive and/or transmit information over acellular connection of a cellular network. The supplemental interface912 may be any component or collection of components that allows thecommunications device 900 to communicate data or control information viaa supplemental protocol. For instance, the supplemental interface 912may be a non-cellular wireless interface for communicating in accordancewith a Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) or Bluetooth protocol. Alternatively,the supplemental interface 912 may be a wireline interface. The backhaulinterface 914 may be optionally included in the communications device900, and may comprise any component or collection of components thatallows the communications device 900 to communicate with another devicevia a backhaul network.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a processing system 1000 that can be usedto implement various embodiments. For instance the processing system1000 can be part of an eNB a UE, or other network devices. Specificdevices may utilize all of the components shown, or only a subset of thecomponents, and levels of integration may vary from device to device.Furthermore, a device may contain multiple instances of a component,such as multiple processing units, processors, memories, transmitters,receivers, etc. The processing system 1000 may comprise a processingunit 1001 equipped with one or more input/output devices, such as aspeaker, microphone, mouse, touchscreen, keypad, keyboard, printer,display, and the like. The processing unit 1001 may include a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 1010, a memory 1020, a mass storage device 1030, avideo adapter 1040, and an I/O interface 1060 connected to a bus. Thebus may be one or more of any type of several bus architecturesincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a videobus, or the like.

The CPU 1010 may comprise any type of electronic data processor. Thememory 1020 may comprise any type of system memory such as static randomaccess memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronousDRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), a combination thereof, or thelike. In an embodiment, the memory 1020 may include ROM for use atboot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use while executingprograms. In embodiments, the memory 1020 is non-transitory. The massstorage device 1030 may comprise any type of storage device configuredto store data, programs, and other information and to make the data,programs, and other information accessible via the bus. The mass storagedevice 1030 may comprise, for example, one or more of a solid statedrive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, orthe like.

The video adapter 1040 and the I/O interface 1060 provide interfaces tocouple external input and output devices to the processing unit. Asillustrated, examples of input and output devices include a display 1090coupled to the video adapter 1040 and any combination ofmouse/keyboard/printer 1070 coupled to the I/O interface 1060. Otherdevices may be coupled to the processing unit 1001, and additional orfewer interface cards may be utilized. For example, a serial interfacecard (not shown) may be used to provide a serial interface for aprinter.

The processing unit 1001 also includes one or more network interfaces1050, which may comprise wired links, such as an Ethernet cable or thelike, author wireless links to access nodes or one or more networks1080. The network interface 1050 allows the processing unit 1001 tocommunicate with remote units via the networks 1080. For example, thenetwork interface 1050 may provide wireless communication via one ormore transmitters/transmit antennas and one or more receivers/receiveantennas. In an embodiment, the processing unit 1001 is coupled to alocal-area network or a wide-area network for data processing andcommunications with remote devices, such as other processing units, theInternet, remote storage facilities, or the like.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto he limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

In addition, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled orcommunicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicatingthrough some interface, device, or intermediate component whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in theart and could be made without departing front the spirit and scopedisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method by a network component, the methodcomprising: arranging a set of time-frequency radio resources,associated with a downlink control channel, for transmitting informationother than control information sent on the downlink control channel; andtransmitting, on the set of time-frequency radio resources, a datainformation message comprising the information other than the controlinformation, wherein the data information message has a size that is thesame as a size of at least one of a transport block for a PhysicalDownlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or a downlink control information (DCI)message transmitted on the downlink control channel, the size of thetransport block being pre-determined according to a wirelesscommunications standard, wherein the information other than the controlinformation is user-specific data information, and wherein the methodfurther comprises: scrambling a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code usinga dedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI):encoding, using a superposition coding, the user-specific datainformation into a first data layer detectable within a coverage areaand a second data layer comprising additional data; and sending thescrambled CRC code with the user-specific data information in the datainformation message.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtransmitting control information on other time-frequency radio resourcesassociated with the downlink control channel.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one time-frequency radio resource of the set oftime-frequency radio resources is predefined to a receiver.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one time-frequency radio resource ofthe set of time-frequency radio resources is not predefined to areceiver.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising signaling, to areceiver, at least one time-frequency radio resource of the set oftime-frequency radio resources.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein atleast one time-frequency radio resource of the set of time-frequencyradio resources is defined in a one of a user-specific search space forthe downlink control channel and a common search space for the downlinkcontrol channel.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information otherthan the control information comprises one of user-specific datainformation and broadcast data information.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein transmitting, on the set of time-frequency radio resources, theinformation other than the control information comprises one of sendingthe user-specific data information in a transport block and sending thebroadcast data information in at least a portion of a Master informationBlock (MIB).
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink controlchannel is one of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and anEnhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH), and wherein the set of time-frequency radioresources corresponds to Control Channel Elements (CCEs) or EnhancedCCEs (ECCEs).
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the dedicateduser-specific RNTI is a cell-RNTI that is user-specific.
 11. The methodof claim 1, further comprising computing the CRC using a specificpolynomial associated With the data information message.
 12. The methodof claim 1, further comprising implementing, one of a specificinterleaving and a specific scrambling associated with the datainformation message prior to computing the CRC.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein the data information message includes at least one predefinedbit that is set to a predefined value distinguishing the datainformation message from a control information message.
 14. The methodof claim 1 further comprising indicating, via higher layer signaling toa receiver, which part of the data information message the receivershould receive.
 15. the method of claim 1, Wherein the information otherthan the control information is broadcast information, and wherein themethod further comprises: scrambling a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)code using a broadcast Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI); andsending the scrambled CRC code with the broadcast information in thedata information message.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thebroadcast RNTI is pre-defined and known to a plurality of receivers. 17.The method of claim 15, Wherein the data information message istransmitted over a plurality of subframes by a plurality oftransmissions.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising scramblingthe data information message by a sequence corresponding to thesubframes.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the scrambling is inaccordance with a cell-specific scrambling sequence applied to the datainformation message.
 20. The method of claim 1 further comprisingencoding the data information message by convolutional codes or by blockcodes.
 21. The method of claim 1 further comprising modulating the datainformation message With a Phase Shift Keying (PSK) scheme.
 22. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the network component is one of a basestation and a relay node.
 23. A network component comprising: at leastone processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring programming for execution by the at least one processor, theprogramming including instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the network component to: arrange a set oftime-frequency radio resources associated with a downlink controlchannel for transmitting information other than control information senton the downlink control channel; and transmit, on the set oftime-frequency radio resources, a data information message comprisingthe information other than the control information, wherein the datainformation message has a size that is the same as a size of at leastone of-a of a transport block for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel(PDSCH) or a downlink control information (DCI) message transmitted onthe downlink control channel, the size of the transport block beingpre-determined according to a wireless communications standard; andwherein the information other than the control information isuser-specific data information, and the programming includes furtherinstructions to: scramble a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code using adedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);encode, using a superposition coding, the user-specific data informationinto a first data layer detectable within a coverage area and a seconddata layer comprising additional data; and send the scrambled CRC codewith the user-specific data information in the data information message.24. The network component of claim 23, wherein the network componentcorresponds to one of an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA) communications network and a Long Term Evolution (LTE)communications network.
 25. A method, comprising: transmitting, by anetwork component and on one or more first time-frequency radioresources associated with a downlink control channel, a user-specificdata information message comprising, non -control information; andtransmitting, by the network component, control information on one ormore second time-frequency radio resources that are associated with thedownlink control channel and that are different from the one or morefirst time-frequency radio resources; wherein the user-specific datainformation message has a size that is the same as a size of at leastone of a transport block for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)or a downlink control information (DCI) message transmitted on thedownlink control channel, the size of the transport block beingpre-determined according to a wireless communications standard, whereinthe non-control information is user-specific data information, andwherein the method further comprises: scrambling a Cyclic RedundancyCheck (CRC) code using a dedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporaryidentifier (RNTI); encoding, using a superposition coding, theuser-specific data information into a first data layer detectable withina coverage area and a second data layer comprising additional data; andsending the scrambled CRC code with the user-specific data informationin the user-specific data information message.
 26. The method of claim25, further comprising determining the one or more first time-frequencyradio resources prior to the transmitting the user-specific datainformation message.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the methodfurther comprises scrambling a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code usinga dedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary identifier (RNTI); andwherein the transmitting the user-specific data information messagecomprises sending the scrambled CRC code with user-specific datainformation in the user-specific data information message.
 28. A device,comprising: transmitter; at least one processor; and a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium storing programming for execution bythe at least one processor, the programming including instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to: causethe transmitter to transmit, with the transmitter and on one or morefirst time-frequency radio resources associated with a downlink controlchannel, a user-specific data information message comprising non-controlinformation; and cause the transmitter to transmit, with thetransmitter, control information on one or more second time-frequencyradio resources that are associated with the downlink control channeland that are different from the one or more first time-frequency radioresources; wherein the data information message has a size that is thesame as a size of at least one of a transport block for a PhysicalDownlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or a downlink control information (DCI)message transmitted on the downlink control channel, the size of thetransport block being pre-determined according to a wirelesscommunications standard; wherein the non-control information isuser-specific data information, and the programming includes furtherinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe device to: scramble a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code using adedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);encode, using a superposition coding, the user-specific data informationinto a first data layer detectable within a coverage area and a seconddata layer comprising additional data; and send the scrambled CRC codewith the user-specific data information in the user-specific datainformation message.
 29. The device of claim 28, wherein the programmingfurther includes instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the device to determine the one or more firsttime-frequency radio resources prior to causing the transmitter totransmit trasnsmitting the user-specific data information message. 30.The device of claim 28, wherein the programming further includesinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe device to scramble a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code using adedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI); andwherein the instructions to cause the transmitter to transmittransmitting the user-specific data information message comprisesinstructions to send sending the scrambled CRC code with user-specificdata information in the user-specific data information message.
 31. Anon-transitory computer-readable media storing computer instructions,that when executed by one or more processors of a communication device,cause the communication device to perform: arranging a set oftime-frequency radio resources, associated with a downlink controlchannel, for transmitting information other than control informationsent on the downlink control channel; and transmitting, on the set oftime-frequency radio resources, a data information message comprisingthe information other than the control information, wherein the datainformation message has a size that is the same as a size of at leastone of a transport block for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)or a downlink control information (DCI) message transmitted on thedownlink control channel, the size of the transport block beingpredetermined according to a wireless communications standard, whereinthe information other than the control information comprisesuser-specific data information, and wherein the computer instructions,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communicationdevice to further perform: scrambling a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)code using a dedicated user-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier(RNTI); encoding, using a superposition coding, the user-specific datainformation into a first data layer detectable within a coverage areaand a second data layer comprising additional data; and sending thescrambled CRC code with the user-specific data information in the datainformation message.